Chapilca

Posted by Lisa on November 27th, 2005 — Posted in Activities

Okay, so I went to Chapilca forever ago, but I realized I forgot to share it with you guys. As you may remember, I have started weaving. I went to a class that was taught by a woman from Chapilca, who made her own yarn. She invited us to come and watch her dye yarn. Chapilca is a town that is centered around weaving. They raise the sheep, then shear them, and then hand spin the wool into yarn, wash it in a big tub, then dye it with natural ingredients. On this day, she used two different types of leaves to dye the yarn yellow and green. To make red yarn, the use the blood of some type of cactus beetle. We met her family, and learned about their different roles in the weaving process. Her grandmother doesn’t get around as well as she use to, so she mainly spins the yarn. The loom they use to make their goods is mammoth. We plan on going back sometime soon. The woven products are beautiful.

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